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Project Summary

Molecular chemistry can provide insight into the physical processes at the earliest stages of star birth, when molecular cloud cores collapse to form protostellar condensations. Dust particles in the dense clouds accrete molecules from the gas, resulting in the growth of ice mantles that eventually get transported into the protostellar environment. It is here, that the warm and dense environments of star forming regions promote a rich chemistry that creates complex prebiotic compounds and a small fraction of this material ends up as planets. Understanding the dominant chemical pathways and the composition of the first ice mantles formed in starless molecular
clouds allows to better interpret the physical effects of star formation (i.e., temperature, radiation, etc.) on molecular cloud material.